McClaren is home and dry now he’s back in his comfort zone at Derby

Steve McClaren is prepared for rain at the club where he has spent more years of his life in football than anywhere else.

But so far he has enjoyed nothing but sunshine at Derby County as he continues the rehabilitation of a career that reached its nadir six years ago on a stormy night at Wembley.

An eighth successive League win by Derby was prevented only by Huddersfield’s 86th-minute equaliser on Boxing Day.

Back on the right path: Steve McClaren led Derby to seven straight wins

Had they not been denied all three points, Derby would have eased into an automatic Championship promotion spot, having been in mid-table when McClaren took over in September.

They have the chance to regain that winning vein at bottom-of-the-table Barnsley this afternoon. The new year for Derby will start with relegated Wigan at Pride Park followed by the FA Cup third-round visit of Chelsea on Sunday.

McClaren is philosophical about the ‘wally with the brolly’ tag, awarded but not deserved when, as England coach, he failed to take the team to the finals of Euro 2008. ‘It was a bad time for me and I wouldn’t want to go over it all again,’ he said. ‘I’ve done enough since to show that I don’t have to prove myself to anyone. It’s history in the eyes of most people. I think I’ve moved on from that.’

The years since — achieving championship success in Holland with FC Twente and coaching one of the Bundesliga’s lesser lights, Wolfsburg — have, he believes, fashioned a manager equipped to succeed in the way he did in his first managerial job at Middlesbrough, a club he guided to the greatest era in their history.

He has never seemed happier since those halcyon days. ‘Derby always held great memories for me,’ said McClaren, who played for the club and returned in 1995 as manager Jim Smith’s assistant.

‘I was at the club when I got married, and two of my three sons were born here. I remember in one club magazine there was a picture of the three kids modelling Derby shirts. So we have a great affinity for the place.

Animated: McClaren hasn't lost any of passion on the touchline

‘I’ve had a few great ups and some not so happy downs, but every experience has been important to my managerial education. I am absolutely certain I’m a better manager for everything that’s happened to me.

‘The important thing was to stay in the game and then grab the opportunity to bounce back from disappointments, which I have been able to do.

‘I have always looked out for Derby. To me it was always one of those clubs which, because of their history and tradition, had to be an attractive proposition, and I don’t think there could be a better time to take over as manager than now.’

Derby’s improvement since McClaren’s arrival to replace Nigel Clough was instant — from the moment he walked into the dressing-room at half-time in the home match against Ipswich.

He intended his first match to be merely a watching brief but, with the team 4-1 down, he decided it had to be much more than that. His rousing half-time speech inspired the team to a 4-4 draw and, barring a 2-1 defeat by League leaders QPR, there has since been remarkable progress.

‘The place was in a kind of shock over the departure of Nigel, and that was evident in that first half against Ipswich,’ said McClaren.

‘Now it’s almost as if the fans have been rejuvenated. The response in the town has been much better than we could have expected.’

Achievement: He won the Dutch Championship when he managed Twente

McClaren has maintained the Derby connection by recruiting former County players Paul Simpson and Eric Steele to the coaching staff.

‘That’s been the message we’ve wanted to get over to the fans — that it’s Derby people taking over their club,’ he said. ‘What we want to do is stay in touch because that’s what’s been missing.’

And so Derby’s chain of command, broken when McClaren left for a fantastically successful spell as Sir Alex Ferguson’s No 2 at Manchester United, has been reforged.

Wet defeat: McClaren will be remembered for failing to take England to the 2008 European Championships

‘I remember coming back from a League match, ironically at Old Trafford at about two in the morning, and Jim Smith pulled me into his office and said, “Well, you obviously know about Man United”.

'He didn’t ask me if I wanted to go or try to persuade me to stay. He knew that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he wasn’t going to stand in my way.

‘But I am as excited about the future now as I was then. You never forget the passion and commitment of Derby supporters — even when we were in the old Third Division. And they are the same now as they were then.’